I don't think it would be prudent to go into the test expecting to do worse than you usually do. It might cause anxiety, and the difficulty per section per tests vacillates so frequently that it's impossible to really predict.

I took the test already in June. I was typically scoring between 162 and 166, but my actual score on the test was a 159. However, I went into the test with the hugely mistaken assumption that the 5th section would be the experimental section. I'm pretty sure the attitude I assumed toward the 5th section contributed to the significant drop I experienced.

Don't want to scare you, but I never PTed below 173 in my last month before the test, averaging about 175-176, and I ended up with a 171. Now, to be fair, I had to travel from northern England to Paris to take the test, my hotel room had no AC and it was hot, and I had a fever the day of the test. That all being said, most people say to expect a drop of a couple points.

It seems that most people tend to hit at the lower range of their recent PT scores, or a point or two below average. Personally, I hit my average on the nose. And I've heard of a few people who actually outperformed their PTs. So it varies, and you know yourself better than we do, but you can generally expect to score within your recent PT range.

Think for most ppl, it will be around average, with a bell curve of +/- 2 to 3 points. I think people who drop in score tend to be more vocal about it, hence why there are more people who tell you to expect a drop.